The manager at my AE store stated that she only uses two brushes. One for tan/brown. One for black/merlot/burgundy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jescha

I use one for light and one for dark colour shoes. I use the light one for my Chili AE.

However, I seriously think that one horsehair brush is OK for all colours in terms of bluffing.

Sounds good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dufferin1

Looking at getting my first pair of AE's from allaboutshoes. Looking at the Fifth Avenue for an all around dressy shoe. For sizing, is the AE fit guide (print-out) the most accurate? I just don't want to make a mistake. I am a 9.5 in Cole Haan's though.

AE fit guide works well as long as the scaling is 1:1 and the two sheets are put together properly and you tape down the guide. After that, the brannock or fit guide sizing is just a starting point. You may need to tweak the shoe size depending on the last.

Quote:

Originally Posted by New Shoes1

Allaboutshoes should correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think he does returns/exchanges. If that is the case, I would find a way to make sure you are correct about your size before ordering from him.

allaboutshoes does not do returns. Nordstrom is a safe bet for a first pair. Their return policy is very liberal. If you want a size they don't stock, they can order it from the factory and have it drop shipped to your home.

"Introducing the SEDONA (pictured below). It’s the perfect summer combination of upbeat colors, sturdy leathers, and lightweight comfort on a Vibram sole. Rarely has a shoe come off our line that so many employees are already planning to get for themselves. Even Ed Pawlowski, our usually understated expert shoemaker whose hands touch every pattern we design, is planning on getting the red version for himself. I’m going for both the green and blue and the red and blue (I think I’ll wear the green and blues most of the time but have the red and blues for the lake). Specially priced at $149 for Father’s Day, they make a great gift."

The AE heel split is an unfortunately common issue that is easily repaired. The problem is the glue AE uses. AE said they will repair, but recommended I simply take them to a cobbler to repair with a little glue so as to not be without my shoes for weeks.

HELP! how to take care of Allen Edmonds Black Hills? they are kind of waxy leather. should i use the nornal premium shoe shine?

Definitely DON'T use the premium shoe polish - that is for polished calf leather. I was given two options for the care of their waxy leather: leather lotion, or saddle soap. I have both, and the leather lotion is easier to work with, in my opinion.

Not sure if I am nitpicking. But those of you with strands. I noticed that one of the brogueing is not really centered on the toe. It is kind of cocked to the left more. Do you notice this on your shoes with brogue on the toe ?

Since this is the "appreciation" thread, I'll start by saying that I presently own five pairs of AE shoes with which I have been very pleased, for the most part . . . but now I'm in the middle of a second frustrating experience with them. I bought a pair of shell cordovan Park Aves last month (first quality - not seconds), and they arrived earlier this week looking like crap.
I first tried calling customer service the day they arrived, and hung up after being on hold for nearly ten minutes. I emailed them shortly after hanging up, and have never received a reply. I finally tried calling again on Friday and got through this time. I politely described my concerns with the CS representative - that the shoes arrived with a very poor finish on them, that there were scratches in them, and the left shoe has an indentation in the upper above the heel. She replied that the issue with the finish is that the cordovan is "blooming". However, the condition of the finish on these shoes appeared to me as though they came right off of the assembly line, went into bags and the box and onto the shipping truck without so much as a cursory quality inspection, much less any attempt to buff or polish them for appearance.
The CS rep recommended that I give them a treatment with the cordovan care cream that I ordered with the shoes, to see if the finish would look better. I explained that the care cream was probably not going to address the scratches or the groove in the heel, so I would prefer just to send them back. I also asked if it would be possible for the factory to start on another pair to minimize my wait for a replacement, and she politely informed me that they couldn't - and it would be another five weeks for a new pair to be made after they receive the pair I'm returning.
I decided I didn't want to wait that long if I could avoid it, so I thanked her for her advice and opted to try the cream and see if I could live with the results.
I worked on them this weekend, and after two treatments of care cream and extensive brushing they certainly looked better, but nowhere near as nice as my shell Aldens or C&Js. The quality just doesn't seem to be there. To make matters worse, after getting the shoes cleaned up and inspecting them more carefully I noticed two small punctures in the upper of the left shoe. It looks as though this may have happened when they were stitching the welt, because the punctures are about the size of a needle and they are very close to the welt. Also, the distance between the two holes matches the stitching pattern. When I discovered these holes I really got pissed off about going to the trouble of trying to make them look better instead of just sending them back in the first place. Now they are definitely going back to AE, and I'm annoyed that I have to wait another month. I'll give them one chance to send me a better pair of shoes, and if the next pair has issues I'll send them back for a refund and will probably never try AE shell cordovan again.
I typically don't post negative reviews online without giving the business an opportunity to resolve the issue, but I feel in this case that I gave them opportunities to resolve this to my satisfaction (calling, emailing, calling again) and they failed. I'll include pics so you can see what I'm talking about.
I mentioned above that this is the second frustrating experience. They recently botched a re-heel on my Drydens, and when I sent them back to be done correctly they still came back with the heel base detaching from the shoe - which is why I sent them to AE in the first place. I've subsequently noticed that the heel on one of my Strands is starting to detach as well.
I really, really want to like Allen Edmonds because they are an American company that makes great-looking shoes; I've purchased eight pairs of their shoes and a couple of their belts over the past several years. However, they are making it difficult to get excited about doing business with them when I have to work through issues like this on their "first quality" products.
I sincerely hope that this ends well, and I will definitely post an update after the next pair arrives.

Update: My "replacement" shoes arrived today; they basically plugged the two holes with something - probably black shoe polish - and shipped the same pair of shoes back to me. I called customer service and calmly informed the CS representative what had happened. She apologized profusely, and said she would get them started on a new pair immediately. Although I'm inclined to write them off at this point and get my money back, I'm going to give them one more chance. Damn, this is frustrating.